Combed
by PurpleTitan
Summary: A 'what if' story. Gothel's plan to kidnap Rapunzel fails. She tries and tries, but always ends up being seen. This is the story of /Princess/ Rapunzel, who's life is what anyone could wish for, until her eigth birthday. bad summary, its better insid
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens. And from, this, small drop of Sun, grew a magic, golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick, and injured. A very old woman, known only as Mother Gothel, found this magic flower, and quickly discovered that it was much more than just a pretty flower.

Centuries past, and a hop, skip, and boat ride away, there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. And the Queen, at the time, was about to have a baby. But she became sick. _Very_ sick. She was running out of time, and that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or, in this case, a magic golden flower.

However, Mother Gothel had other plans. She checked over bother of her shoulders, searching for any sign that she was being watched. When she was positive the coast was clear, she lifted the fake bush that sat in front of her, revealing the magic flower. She removed the hood of her cloak from her head, and kneeled in front of the flower.

Instead of sharing the Sun's gift, she hoarded its healing powers and used it to keep her young for hundreds of years. All she had to do, was sing a special song.

"Flower, gleam, and glow." She sang, waving her hands around the flower as it began to glow, "let your powers shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine, what once…was mine." She smiled as she finished her song, and what once was wrinkled, pale skin, turned into a healthy pink shade. That was when she heard the voices.

Franticly, she covered her precious flower and took off. When she noticed that her lantern had knocked over her fake bush, it was to late. The guards and villagers found it, and took it. She followed them, wondering where on Earth they could be taking her flower. She watched them take it into the castle, and listened in on the villagers conversations.

"I hope both of them will be alright," a woman said.

"The King must be so scared," said a young man.

"I hope the Queen's illness hasn't hurt the baby."

Gothel put things together in her head, and figured it out. They took her flower to save the sick Queen, and her unborn baby.

XX

Just as predicted, the magic of the golden flower healed the Queen. A few months later, a healthy baby girl was born, with beautiful golden hair, who they named Rapunzel. Other than her golden locks, she was a spitting image of the Queen. She was a very beautiful baby, with her bright green eyes, shoulder length golden hair, and the tiniest of freckles surrounded her nose.

In celebration of her birth, the King and Queen launched a floating lantern into the sky. And for that one moment, everything was perfect.

And then that moment ended.

When Rapunzel was only a few months old, Mother Gothel broke into the castle to test her theory. Did the magic of her precious flower live on inside this baby?

"Flower, gleam, and glow," she sang, and right before her eyes, the child's hair began to glow, just like the flower had done.

"Let your powers shine," she lowered a pair of scissors down to a lock of hair she'd picked up, "make the clock re-oh!" She gasped, for when she cut the hair, it turned brown, and her smooth skin wrinkled up once more.

This left her with only one option, one she was hoping she wouldn't have to do.

Carefully she lifted the baby out of her crib, waking her instantly. Once Rapunzel saw the menacing blue-grey eyes of Mother Gothel, she let out a high pitched shriek, instantly waking the King and Queen, who ran out of the bed tried to grab her before she managed to get away with their baby.

"Guards! Guards!" Shouted the King. Moments later, three guards shot into the room, quickly pulling out their swards and pointed them at Gothel.

"Don't!" Cried the Queen, "she has Rapunzel!"

"Give us the baby, woman." One of the guards ordered, pulling his sward back slightly.

Mother Gothel took a step back towards the window, then swiftly turned on her heal and dove for the balcony, only to have her cloak snagged by the King. The pried Rapunzel from her arms; who was now shrieking loud enough to wake the entire kingdom, and handcuffed Mother Gothel. As the old woman was taken away, the Queen held her crying baby, and discovered the short lock of brown hair behind Rapunzel's ear. Had it been their this whole time? She wondered. Perhaps it was starting to fade, like they figured it would.

Meanwhile, the guards took Mother Gothel to her cell under the palace, and she was to be hanged after sunrise the next morning.

But to everyone's surprise, when the guards went down to her cell that morning, she was gone.

Months went by, and by the time Rapunzel had reached the age of one, Mother Gothel had tried to steal the girl three more times, but failed. She was, however, able to get the magic out of the baby's hair moments before she was discovered. And that gave her an idea.

For the next three years, Mother Gothel broke into the castle while everyone was asleep, and she would brush Rapunzel's hair while she slept, and sing her special song. When Rapunzel reached the age of four, she started sleeping in her own room. That was when Gothel made her move.

She found the toddlers' room with ease, and purposely woke the child.

"M-Mommy..?" Rapunzel asked, rubbing her eyes with her tiny hands.

"No," Mother Gothel whispered, "I'm your knew friend. I've come to show you that you have a very special gift, flower."

"My names not flower," Rapunzel yawned, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eyes once more, "It's Rapunzel."

"Forgive me, _Rapunzel._" Mother Gothel groaned. "Do you know what magic is?" She asked. Rapunzel nodded.

"Well, you, dear child, have a magic power."

Rapunzel gasped lightly. "Really?"

The old woman nodded, and picked up a brush from the child's nightstand. "Listen carefully, flower, I need you to learn this song for me. But what I'm about to show you has to be kept a secret, between you and me only."

Rapunzel was confused, but allowed Gothel to take a few locks of her hair in her hand, and start to sing.

"Flower, gleam, and glow." Gothel sang, and Rapunzel's hair started to glow. The toddler froze, but listened as the old woman continued to sing.

"Let your powers shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. Heal, what has been hurt. Change the Fates design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine." Rapunzel watched in awe as the old woman seemed to turn young again, and any cuts or bruises she had on her body healed within seconds.

"What once was mine." Gothel finished, and looked down at the child, who looked like she was going to pass out.

"Now, do you think you can remember that for me?" She asked. Rapunzel nodded numbly. "Remember, flower, you have to keep this a secret."

"O-okay."

"Good girl." Gothel smiled, patting the girls hair. "Now, go back to sleep."

Rapunzel, still in shock, lied back down in her bed, her eyes wide. Gothel tucked the blankets around the girl's shoulders, then disappeared out the window. Rapunzel shut her eyes tight, wondering if she would wake up the next morning, and find out that this was just a stilly dream.


	2. Chapter 2

"_You have to be careful, Rapunzel." Said Mother Gothel, as she stroked the child's hair. "If anyone finds out about our little secret, you'll never get to see me again."_

_Rapunzel's eyes filled with tears at Gothel's statement. "Why?" She cried._

"_Because your parents aren't exactly, _fond_ of me." _

"_Why?"_

"_I don't know, dear."_

_Rapunzel wished she could ask them, but that would reveal their secret. _

_Gothel brushed Rapunzel's hair for a few more minutes before looking out onto the balcony. "It's getting late, flower." Gothel sighed, setting the brush down. "You need to get plenty of sleep. Tomorrow is a very big day."_

"_Yep!" Rapunzel smiled. "I'm turning eight!"_

_Gothel smiled at Rapunzel's enthusiasm. "I'll see you in a few weeks, my flower." She said as she tucked the blankets around Rapunzel's tiny frame._

"_Thank you, Miss Gothel."_

_Just as Gothel stepped out onto the balcony, a pair of hands crept out from the walls. Then another pair from the ceiling. More and more poured in from all directions. They pulled at Rapunzel's hair, and started to cut it. _

"_No!" Rapunzel screamed. She searched for Mother Gothel, but the only thing she could find was her cloak. The shadows continued to cut her hair, and she watched in horror as it fell to the floor, darkening in color as it did so. Gothel's words echoed inside her head._

"_You have to be careful,"_

XX

Rapunzel woke from her dream with a start. Her heart pounded as she looked around the room, checking to see if the evil shadows were there. Nope. She looked out at her balcony for Mother Gothel's cloak. Nope.

She sighed in relief. It was just a dream.

_Miss Gothel hasn't been by in a few months, _Rapunzel thought, _but she had promised on her last visit to come on my bir-_

She looked back at the balcony. The sun was starting to rise. Rapunzel gasped at the sight. If the sun was up, that meant it was her birthday!

Consumed by her own excitement, she leapt from her bed and swung her bedroom door open. She took off running to her parents room. Without even bothering to knock, she pushed the door open, and with a running start she dove into their bed.

"Mommy, Daddy! Wake up!" She cheered, shaking her father's body as hard as an eight year old could. "It's my birthday!"

"We know, sweetheart." Her father laughed, lightly pushing his daughter between him and his wife.

"It's barely seven o'clock, honey." Her mother yawned, "don't you want to sleep in on your birthday?"

"No way!" Rapunzel said, "I want to get it started as soon as possible!"

The King and Queen laughed at their daughters excitement, and slowly rolled out of bed. "Go get dressed, Rapunzel." The Queen smiled, "put on something nice, we're taking you into town today."

Rapunzel stopped dead in her tracks. "Really?" She gasped, smiling from ear to ear.

Her parents nodded, making her scream with joy as she ran back to her room. "Do you think she's ready for this, Marie?" Asked the King.

"Of course she is, James." Marie insisted. "She hasn't stepped foot outside the palace grounds since…well, ever!"

King James rested a hand on his wife's shoulder. They hadn't let Rapunzel step foot outside the gates that surrounded the palace after the insane old woman tried to kidnap their daughter. She'd been allowed to play out in the yard, but only under the supervision of at least three of the castle's guards. Queen Marie sighed at the thought; her daughter had almost no privacy.

Five minutes later, the Queen stood outside Rapunzel's bedroom door. "Are you ready for me to come in, Rapunzel?" She called.

"Yes, Mommy!"

Marie smiled as she pushed the door open. Rapunzel sat on her bed, in her favorite purple dress. She joined her daughter on her mattress, and started to braid her hair. In length, the young girl's hair was at least six feet long, and Rapunzel refused to have it cut. If it wasn't braided, it dragged on the floor every time Rapunzel walked-or in most cases, ran- somewhere. However, when the Queen braided it, it was shortened to waist length. It took almost an hour to braid her hair single handedly, but when she was done, it looked very pretty.

"Thank you, Mommy!" Rapunzel smiled, spinning around in front of her large mirror.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." Marie laughed as she watched her daughter spin and model for her. "You look so beautiful in that dress."

"It's my favorite." Rapunzel ginned.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Rapunzel called. King James entered the room, a huge smile on his face.

"Are you two ready?" He asked. The Queen took Rapunzel's tiny hand in hers, and they followed her husband to the front of the castle, where over half of the palace guards were waiting.

Rapunzel frowned. "Do _all_ of them have to come, Daddy?"

He looked down at his daughter, and was met by her big, sad emerald eyes. "I'm sorry, Rapunzel." He sighed, "it's for your-"

"Good morning, your majesties." Said the Captain of the guards. "And happy birthday, Princess Rapunzel." He grinned. Rapunzel forced out a smile. She was thankful that there were so many people who were willing to protect her and her parents, but would it be so bad to just go _one day _without being constantly watched?

Rapunzel was snapped from her thoughts when her father took her hand and started to walk. She was amazed by everything she saw. It all looked great from her balcony, but when she was standing right next to it, it was so…so…

"Wow," Rapunzel breathed, awestruck.

The first thing she noted was that everything smelled _so good! _The fresh bread, cheese, fruits, everything! Sure, it smelled good inside the castle, but there was something about the town foods that was so much more interesting.

The next thing she saw-well, heard- was the music. The violins, the flutes, everything blended so beautifully, she couldn't help it when she started to bounce to it's beat. King James saw this out of the corner of his eye. "Marie, look at Rapunzel." he whispered.

The King and Queen were so distracted by Rapunzel's joy, they failed to notice the familiar cloaked figure that was peering out from behind a building. She had heard rumors that the princess would be coming into town on her birthday, so she made sure to come into town, for she had come up with the perfect plan to get her flower back _for good_.


End file.
